Bung, stopper, or the like for casks or other storage-receptacles.



- PATBNTED SEPT'Q29, 1903. J. ROSS & A. W. MAGKENZIE.

BUNG, STOPPER, OR THE LIKE FOR OASKS OR OTHER STORAGE REIOEP' IT AOLB.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2, 1902.

110 MODEL.

jt l neqsg fawn/Z57 5".

UNIT D STATES Patented September 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES ROSS AND ALEXANDER WOODCOCK MACKENZIE, OF EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHN GILL, OF EDINBURGH,

SCOTLAND.

BUNG, STOPPER, OR THE LIKE FOR CASKS OR OTHER STORAGE- RECEPTACLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,929, dated September 29, 1903.

Application filed January 2, 1902. Serial No. 88,238. (No model.)

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMEs Ross and AL- EXANDER Woonooox MACKENZIE, subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at Edinburgh, Scotland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bungs, Stoppers, or the Like for Casks or other Storage-Receptacles; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to bungs, stoppers, or the like for casks and other storage-receptacles and which are more especially applicable for casks and the like employed for storing ale, beer, or other liquids which gen erate or give off gases or vapors or from which receptacles the contents are required to be drawn in greater or less quantities from time to time.

The object of our invention is to provide a bung, stopper, or the like which shall permit the gases or vapors generated in such casks or receptacles to pass off and escape auto matically whenever the internal pressure increases and reaches the point at which such escape is desired and is necessary and in some cases shall also permit the necessary quantity of air to enter the cask or receptacle to allow the contents to be drawn off, as required from time to time. Brewers, beerretailers, consumers, and others will thereby be saved a great deal of trouble, the ordinary spiles or vent-pegs will be rendered unnecessary, the quality of the beer, for example, will be improved, and evils arising from the bursting of the casks or the flattening of the beer will be avoided.

Our invention consists of an ordinary circular bung, shive, stopper, or the like made of wood orother suitable material having a recess or cavit-yin its under side from which a small hole communicates with the upper side of the said bung. The larger inner end of the wall of the recess or cavity is shouldered down to receive a disk or diaphragm, of india-rubber or other similar material, which is preferably first fitted and fixed into a rim or frame, of brass or other suitable metal pressure to its normal or desired point.

or material, which rim or frame is closed upon the outer edge of theindia-rubber, for example, so as to hold it firm. This rim or frame containing the india-rubber is fitted tightly into the hole in the under side of the bung and rests against the shoulder above menand causing it to assume a more or less spherical shape, and the punctures therein are thereby caused to open and allow the excess ofv gases to escape, thus reducing the internal The india-rubber then assumes its more or less flat'or disk-like form and the punctures are caused to close again by the resilient nature of the rubber, thereby effectually excluding the outside air. In cases where a greater pressure of internal gases is desired before any escape takes place thisresult will be readily obtained by using a thicker or stronger sheet of india-rubber. A bung or stopper of this description also readily admits of liquid being drawn off from the cask, as the outside air necessary to fill the void caused by the withdrawal of the liquid will be admitted through the punctures of the iudia-rubber by the pressure of the atmosphere, causing the india-rubber to expand and take a spherical shape in a downward direction.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurelis a transverse section of a bung, shive,or st0pper constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is an edge view. Figs. 3 and 4 are under and upper face views, respectively, and'Fig. 5 is a section of a vent-peg or spile with our invention applied thereto. Similar letters of reference relate to like parts in all the figures.

a is an ordinary circular bung, shive, or stopper. b is the recess or cavity in its under side, terminating, as shown by full lines,

in the concave surface or in a fiat or otherwise shaped surface and communicating with the upper side of the bung or stopper a by the small hole d.

e is the india-rubber or other elastic disk or diaphragm mounted in the brass or other rim or frame f, which latter is forced tightly into the hole in the under side of the bung or shive and against the shoulder 9, so as to form an air-tight joint therewith. The punctures in the disk or diaphragm e are not shown, as they would be ordinarily invisible unless the disk or diaphragm were distended to a considerable degree. The dotted lines 'i andj in Fig. 1 indicate, respectively, the approximate positions assumed by the disk 8 when allowing the escape of excess of gases from the cask and when allowing air to enter the cask to occupy the void caused by the withdrawal of liquid therefrom. The recess or cavity 1; with its concave or other surface 0, the small hole d, and the shoulder g are preferably formed at one operation with a specially-shaped tool when making the bung, shive, or stopper.

Fig. shows a hollow spile or vent-peg with our punctured disk or diaphragm c applied thereto, the said disk or diaphragm being free to assume its curved form either down into the recess b to admit atmospheric air into the receptacle through the hole It or upward to allow excess of gas or vapor to escape from the receptacle into the atmosphere through the hole d. The spile or vent-peg may be made of wood, brass, or other-metal.

We claim.

1. In a hung, shive, stopper, or the like adapted to be inserted wholly from the outside into the bun g-hole or other similar hole in the cask, an elastic disk c having in it a number of fine needle-holes, said disk being supported only round its edge by an inclosing rim f, its center part being left free, to move outwardly by the pressure of the gas within to allow escape of same and to move inwardly at times for the inlet of air, substantially as described.

2. In a bung, shive, stopper, or the like made in one piece of material a and adapted In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES ROSS. ALEXANDER WOODCOCK MACKENZIE. Witnesses:

SAMUEL DoW MACMILLAN, ROBERT HUTcHIsoN HENDERSON. 

